Chamber and committees

There have been no discussions with the SEC management team specifically on the financing of the proposed expansion since it was raised with the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture in April 2022. Due to budgetary pressures, we are unable to provide a capital finance package to fund the planned expansion. However, we continue to engage with the SEC, which has an excellent track record and reputation for hosting conferences and events, to build on their success.

The Scottish Government intervened to secure the future of Glasgow Prestwick Airport when the business was under threat of closure. It was in the public interest to secure the continued operation of Glasgow Prestwick Airport as an asset of strategic importance to Scotland.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport has performed well in a highly competitive aviation market and is now a profitable business, however we remain committed to returning the airport to private ownership at the appropriate time. Any decision to sell Prestwick Airport must be informed by what is right for the long-term success of the business and it's contribution to the local and Scottish economy.

There is considerable potential for Glasgow Prestwick Airport to drive economic development as the anchor of an aerospace cluster in South Ayrshire. The Scottish Government will work with all relevant parties to make the most of this opportunity.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information and it is not collected by Public Health Scotland.

Every Public Body publishes an Annual Report and Accounts which will include details of amounts owed to them. These annual accounts will normally be available online on the website of the individual organisation.

The Scottish Government continues to support struggling households, which is why both last year and this, we have allocated almost £3 billion to support policies which tackle poverty and protect people as far as possible during the ongoing cost of living crisis. We will also allocate at least £11 million in 2023-24 to support free debt, welfare and income maximisation advice.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information and it is not collected by Public Health Scotland.

Scottish Ministers continue to encourage public bodies to share good practice on debt assistance and collection and to show empathy and dignity when working with people struggling with debt. At a recent meeting of the ‘Joint Working Group on Sourcing of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform’ ministers raised the issue of Council Tax Debt and Recovery with the COSLA President, Vice President and Resources Spokesperson.

Scottish Government has also taken considerable action to help people struggling with the impacts of the cost of living crisis. This year we will provide funding to local government in excess of £350 million to deliver the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, ensuring over 450,000 households receive some level of Council Tax Reduction and on average recipients save over £750 a year. More widely, in 2023-24 we are tripling the Fuel Insecurity Fund and maintaining our investment in the Scottish Welfare Fund at £41 million to support those most in need.

Quasi-government agencies (quangos) are referred to as devolved national public bodies. There is no requirement to maintaining financial records of devolved national public bodies as far back as 1999, therefore, this information is not held centrally.

The national directory of all devolved national public bodies is in the public domain, and may be accessed in the following link. It provides information on Scottish Government funding for the current year, where applicable. It also provides links to the webpages containing published accounts for the various bodies.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-public-bodies-directory/pages/introduction/

This information has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre under BiB No 64215.

There is no single crime of human trafficking and it may be recoded and prosecuted under the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015, Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995, Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004.

Table 1 shows crimes related to 'human trafficking' recorded by the police, 2007-08 to 2021-22; Table 2 shows the number of people prosecuted where the main crime/charge was related to human trafficking, 2007-08 to 2020-21.

Please note: Care should be taken when comparing different data sources relating to the criminal justice system. A crime can only be recorded if it is reported to the police and can only then be prosecuted in court if the crime is reported to the procurator fiscal and a decision taken that court proceedings are the most appropriate course of action. In addition, recorded crime statistics count crimes and offences at the time that they came to the attention of Police Scotland, while criminal proceedings statistics report on cases once they have concluded in court. This means that a crime may be recorded by the police in one year and court proceedings concluded in a subsequent year. In addition, a person may be proceeded against for more than one crime, or a set of crimes with more than one victim, in a proceeding, but only a single conviction for the ‘main charge’ (the one receiving the most severe sentence) would be counted in the court proceedings statistics. There is also the possibility that the crime recorded by the police may be altered in the course of judicial proceedings.

Data for 2020-21 are affected by the pandemic and subsequent court closures and may not be reflective of long term trend.

sport scotland’s provisional allocation of up to £5m for the development of a potential tennis facility at Park of Keir remains in place.

However, at this stage,a full application for a tennis facility at Park of Keir has not been received. Any decision on whether to make a capital award and the appropriate level of any award will only be taken on completion of a full application (as outlined in response to S6W-05651 on 20 January 2022).

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering Anne’s Law and the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill will further support the rights of people living in adult care homes to connect with their loved ones.

The National care service will have a responsibility for planning services and setting standards, with Scottish Ministers being responsible for social care and support. The design and delivery of the National Care Service will have human rights embedded throughout, that everyone should have access to consistently high-quality care and support and it’s right that Anne’s Law is a part of that. We are not considering decoupling the Anne’s Law provisions.

However, we are also committed to doing what we can now to implement the aims of Anne’s law using existing powers. For example the Health and Social Care standards were updated in April 2022 along with the associated inspection framework for care homes. Public Health Scotland’s visiting guidance has also been updated to broaden the scope for visits even during an outbreak situation. Taken together, these measures have resulted in 99% of care homes in Scotland reporting that they are supporting indoor visiting. The Scottish Government, in anticipation of the Scottish Parliament passing the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, will work with all interested parties to maintain this figure and will also work to address any isolated issues should they emerge.